Is there a toilet in my tank??

[aromaff16]

Any suggestions on how to stop or quiet down the gurgling sound as water enters my overflow? I've read many ideas online on building various standpipes, but they all work in coordination with an over flow box. I however do not have an overflow box, my drains go directly through bulkheads in the back of my tank and down into my sump. I have a 125gallon main, a 55 gallon sump, (2X) 1 1/2" overflows and (2X) mag 9.5 return pumps. I also do not want to restrict the return going back into my tank. Right now I am cycling 1100 gallons/hr through my system which, from what I've determined through many thousands of hours of research, is just about right. Ive tried drilling a small hole in the top of the elbow that comes out of the bulkhead behind my tank. My logic in doing so was that this would be an alternate way for air to get in instead of it getting sucked in with the water as it tumbles into the overflows, hence quieting the gurgling. To my dissappointment it did not work. ;o( Any suggestions would be appreciated. Just to clarify, the gurgling is whats driving me nuts. Its not the water running down the pipes or the water as its entering the sump... I can live with those noises. Thanks

[bamf25]

have problem picturing what you are saying. Can you post pictures? Your pipes are free standing within the tank and no actual box? If that is what you are saying, I see one option. You can a a Herbie setup with your tank, but in order to make it work you may have to lower the water level in the tank. In the herbie one drain is use a a full siphon, which greatly decreases noise. As safety backup, a second pipe opening sites about 1 to 2 inches above the full siphon pump. Your flow is ajusted so only the one pipe is draining at full siphon. The emergency pipe gets used if there is a clog or partial clog in the main siphon. Then the noise is a warning something is off. Unfortunately, I do not see this working without lowering the water level in the tank. The increased laminar flow should allow one of those 1 1/2 inch drains to handle all the work.

[aromaff16]

I can get some on later tonight... getting ready to head out.

[Playa-1]

Your easiest solution is to slow down the volume by restricting the flow from the return pump. Other then that you need to vent air from the drain lines. I think you were on the right track with the hole in the elbow, but I would go further and build the drain pipe on the outside of the tank with a T instead of an elbow. One side of the T drains to the sump and the other side of the T points straight up and would be a place to mount a valve to control air flow. I've found that there is a sweet spot for the air on the drain pipe. Wide open equal noise, and too restricted equals restricted flow, drain noise and fluctuation in the overflow water level. That is where I would start and then you may need to make additional mods.

[aromaff16]

Im switching out my sump next week. Have a 29 gallon but going to a 55... I think Im going to give your suggestion a try when I have everything apart. I want to get all these ploblems solved before I get anything live in it. :0)

[Palting]

Any suggestions on how to stop or quiet down the gurgling sound as water enters my overflow? I've read many ideas online on building various standpipes, but they all work in coordination with an over flow box. I however do not have an overflow box, my drains go directly through bulkheads in the back of my tank and down into my sump. I have a 125gallon main, a 55 gallon sump, (2X) 1 1/2" overflows and (2X) mag 9.5 return pumps. I also do not want to restrict the return going back into my tank. Right now I am cycling 1100 gallons/hr through my system which, from what I've determined through many thousands of hours of research, is just about right. Ive tried drilling a small hole in the top of the elbow that comes out of the bulkhead behind my tank. My logic in doing so was that this would be an alternate way for air to get in instead of it getting sucked in with the water as it tumbles into the overflows, hence quieting the gurgling. To my dissappointment it did not work. ;o( Any suggestions would be appreciated. Just to clarify, the gurgling is whats driving me nuts. Its not the water running down the pipes or the water as its entering the sump... I can live with those noises. Thanks

The gurgling is partly due to the water falling down into your elbow, taking some of the air with it. You solved part of that problem with the air hole in the back elbow. I had a simillar issue with my remote refugium, where I had the drain set-up just like your main tank, except I also had another elbow inside the tank. One quick fix that worked for me was to turn the elbow that's inside the tank upside down. In your case, you'll have to place an elbow on the inside tank part of the bulkhead and make it point downward. With the air hole you drilled on the top of the outside elbow, water will still flow into the inside elbow and drain down. It worked for me, but the flow through my refugium is only 600 gph. You can give it a try, don't know how quiet it will be with 1100gph, though.

If you find it too noisy still, then the only option I can see is the Herbie or Beanimal system. Just do a search in this forum or google it.

[Dustin1300]

Eliminate the toilet with a Beananimal overflow (http://beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx). While the site has three drains it can be done with two drains but you're more open to a problem should a drain get plugged. I've not yet gotten water in my system but I did it on my 140 gallon frag tank and will be doing it on my 450 gallon DT.

[rrasco]

Eliminate the toilet with a Beananimal overflow (http://beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx). While the site has three drains it can be done with two drains but you're more open to a problem should a drain get plugged. I've not yet gotten water in my system but I did it on my 140 gallon frag tank and will be doing it on my 450 gallon DT.

I think 2 drains = herbie, while 3 = bean. IIRC, bean utilizes a dry emergency and the herbie does not have an emergency.

[ut_vols13]

http://www.dursostandpipes.com/

[bamf25]

I think 2 drains = herbie, while 3 = bean. IIRC, bean utilizes a dry emergency and the herbie does not have an emergency.

Actually, bean has two emergencies, and herbie has one. Both use one primary drain, while the bean has a mild overflow drain and then a full emergency drain. The herbie has one full overflow, then one pipe that acts as a mild overflow/emergency drain. In either system it is highly unlikely you will ever has an issue, and I would agrue both are safer than a traditional one drain one return system like almost all rr systems. :beer:

[puffer_m@n]

+1 on beananimal

but if a 3rd hole isn't an option, then herbie should at least quiet it down.

[rrasco]

Actually, bean has two emergencies, and herbie has one. Both use one primary drain, while the bean has a mild overflow drain and then a full emergency drain. The herbie has one full overflow, then one pipe that acts as a mild overflow/emergency drain. In either system it is highly unlikely you will ever has an issue, and I would agrue both are safer than a traditional one drain one return system like almost all rr systems. :beer:

Bean = siphon, open channel, emergency. The open channel doubles as a siphon/emergency if the water level raises above the dry emergency and starves the open channel of air, thus creating an emergency siphon. I'm familiar with Bean, but never really looked much into Herbie, so I can't speak as to how it works. I was under the impression a Herbie is a Bean without a dry emergency.

[greech]

Agree with Playa-1 on the "T". Also, are your drain lines submerged in the sump? If so, look into a reverse durso to further vent the air trapped in the line. This would go at the end of your drain line and can be used with or without an overflow box. I think that replacing the elbow with a "T" and valve along with a reverse durso will help quite a bit.

[aromaff16]

can you explain what you mean by a reverse durso? Do you mean putting an elbow on the end of my drain underneath the water level in my sump?

[aromaff16]

The bean, durso and herbie all work with an elbow fully submerged in the overflow box.... I dont have an overflow box. Water goes through the bulkheads in the back glass of my tank and down through into the sump. Im thinking the "T" method is my best option without an overflow box

[zombiesniper308]

can you explain what you mean by a reverse durso? Do you mean putting an elbow on the end of my drain underneath the water level in my sump?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=reverse+durso

i have one on mine and its cheap and easy to make

[greech]

Gotta love lmgtfy :)

Here is a pic of mine. The idea is water and air in the line are separted at the end. Air vents up and water fall into the sump with less turbulence and thus reduces the gurgle and jacuzzi effect. The other benefit is by using a bushing and a plumbers "Y", the drain gets larger and the slope of the water fall isn't as drastic. Hope this helps:

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww93/greech/100_4142.jpg

[aromaff16]

Thanks everyone for all the tips. I think when I redo my drains next week I am going to incorporate the wye at the bottom end,and the tee at the top end. Best of both worlds!!

[symon_say]

Eliminate the toilet with a Beananimal overflow (http://beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx). While the site has three drains it can be done with two drains but you're more open to a problem should a drain get plugged. I've not yet gotten water in my system but I did it on my 140 gallon frag tank and will be doing it on my 450 gallon DT.

I have this and i wouldn't different if a set a new tank, is completely silent and give me peace of mind knowing that is almost impossible that my tank overflow.

[beachbreak]

I use a reverse durso and it works well. I had to modify it due to having two overflows but the "double reverse durso" works well.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/JfromHouston/2-5.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/JfromHouston/3-4.jpg

[NanoReefWanabe]

honestly there is only two options:
1> do it properly and build an overflow box...it is pretty plain and simple...2 pieces of glass and 24-48 hours of cure time...your tank will be fine for two days without filtering...just put your heater in the display, add an extra power head and do a water change...then set up a herbie system and be done with it...no more gurgling period...adding down turned elbows to your current setup will siphon a ridiculous amount of water out of your tank and likely create a flood scenario for you..
2> reduce the flow entering the tank, thereby reducing the flow through the pipes, thereby reducing the amount of air entering the pipes, which will in turn reduce gurgling noises...

all the add elbows here and tees there are band aid gimmicks at best, the only way to make the drains silent is to drastically reduce the flow (which some of these plumbing contraptions may do) or plumb it as a siphon...

your current configuration would have me drastically concerned for the health and livelihood of your fish, no overflow box and open 1.5" pipes to the sump would make it very easy for fish to go missing...

i hope you have other flow in the tank as 1100gph is barely enough to keep any corals alive and happy...and at 125 gallon tank you only need 3-5times filtering turnover in your sump ie about 625gph max...how big is your skimmer? that is all the turnover rate you need in your sump and then a little extra....will your skimmer handle 1100gph of water?

[Playa-1]

I would agree that you should have some type of overflow box or something similiar to keep the surface water skimmed and your drain pipes clear. There are other methods then a traditional overflow box. But if you don't make sure that your drain stays open and clear then you will have a big problem.